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The Winter 2017 Issue

Welcome to the latest issue of Mar Shiprim! As you can see, with this new issue comes also a totally new look for the website. We hope you like our new and more minimalist theme! The site is still new, so please let us know if you find any problems or links that are no longer working.

Our first piece this month are two statements from the IAA. The first regards the continuing crisis in the Middle East, and the IAA calls on its members and all parties involved to ‘respect the right to life of all citizens and to work to prevent, minimize and repair damage to the heritage of the region’. The second concerns the order restricting entry to the United States. The IAA Board ‘strongly calls for the immediate suspension of this executive order’, and ‘condemn the chilling impact that it will have on both the study of the affected countries and on their people.’

The spotlight falls on Chuo University, where Fumi Karahashi and her student Naomi Aiba tell us about their work and daily life in Tokyo, as well as the challenges facing the Humanities in Japan. ‘In Popular Culture’ features Sabina Franke, who organized a workshop on communicating knowledge about Assyriology to a wider audience.

Yet the new year also brings new changes. At the 2017 Rencontre the proposal to rename the IAA will be discussed. Head over to our post to see the motivation for this proposal, and participate in the consultation discussion – even if you cannot make it to Marburg, you can still make your voice heard! Remember also that you can vote by proxy, if you are unable to vote in person at the General Meeting.

Finally, the issue brings you an updated list of books published in the fields of Assyriology and Mesopotamian Archeology since September.

As always, all suggestions for improvement and any content that you would like us to put on Mar Shiprim is more than welcome! If you have happy news to share or if you would like your university to be featured in the spotlight, let us know. Also, if you’ve found something missing or broken on the site, just send us a note.